


Smokescreens and Mirrors

by Ella_Chane



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Confused Dipper, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gaslighting (?), M/M, Manipulation, Memory Loss, Plot Twist, Ratings might change, Slow Burn, not gonna give away the most important character or it'll ruin the twist, posessive Bill
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-05-23 07:29:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6109523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ella_Chane/pseuds/Ella_Chane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After finding himself in the woods late at night, Dipper starts to notice strange things. He can't seem to remember things the correct way, he feels different. And he keeps having weird dreams. </p><p>Determined to figure out the truth, Dipper decides to go back to where the craziness started. But he won't like what he's about to discover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> Just gonna leave this here...

_**Smoke s c r e e n s and Mir r o r s** _

******◅** **Chapter 1▻**

* * *

 

It was dark when he came to. His mocha brown eyes opening slowly to meet the dark, star-filled sky. His head hurt. A lot. And he had no idea what had happened. His body screamed at him for oxygen, making him quick to inhale deeply to get his functions working. When had he forgotten to breathe? Come to think of it, he was forgetting to do a lot of things. Has he always been like this? He didn’t know, _wasn’t sure_. For some reason, his consciousness didn’t quite sit with him. It was as if it wasn’t his, like he was looking through another’s life from different eyes that didn’t belong to him. But _why_? This _was_ him, was it not? He lifted a weak hand, curling his fingers into a tight fist before slowly unfurling them. He could feel that, could feel the blood rushing through his veins and his bones moving in sync with his flesh to meld down easily as though it were melted metal. Easy, pliable.

_Wrong_.

He let his hand drop back down to the grass floor, his mind jarring with so many questions. Wrong, wrong, _wrong_ , it said, whispering the word softly at first before it built up into a loud and steady crescendo, ringing in his ear like multiple instruments being blown right beside him. He cringed, forcing his eyes shut and taking in deep breaths to calm his racing heart, to try and still his rapid nerves.

“ _Dipper!_ ” A voice cried out. He jolted, eyes opening wide as he made himself sit up. A mistake on his part considering it had his body raging on fire with an invisible pain that started up the base of his spine to his head, making him clutch it tightly as though he were trying to prevent it from splitting open. He hissed, eyes squeezed shut before he had the air suddenly knocked out from him, sending him sprawling to the ground with a wheeze.

“Don’t you _ever_ run off like that, you understand? You had us all worried!” The voice continued on. It was a girl’s voice, loud, but soft at the same time, and filled with the utmost relief. He closed his eyes, seeing a picture of someone with long brown hair and the warmest, brightest chocolate brown eyes that he knew were much like his. A smile, both beautiful and friendly, with teeth laced with small silver brackets across them-braces, as he recalled them to be. Memories flashed by like old timey screen pictures, filled with this person, this girl. Smiles, laughter, shared secrets, and mysteries all combined on to this thin strip of images. Then finally, there was one that rang out as clear as the stars above him. It was a bright day, the sun baring hot on them like an oven. The girl held tightly on to something red in her hand, it was melting. The red liquid seeping off of the object and onto her hand like a river, to which she proceeded to lick at it before wiping it along her brother’s cheek as an act of revenge. He could hear someone-no, he could hear _himself_ speaking, as though he were there with her. “ _Ew! Way to be gross-_ ”

“Mabel,” He croaked, his voice sounding tired and gruff. Mabel, that was her name. Pretty soon the name and face connected and he remembered just who she was. She was his sister, _twin_ sister. The girl leaned back and looked over him with concern weighing heavily in her eyes.

“Thank goodness! I thought you had amnesia or something with the way you weren’t responding,” She said, relief evident in her tone. He blinked, meeting her gaze and working up a smile, albeit a weak one though.

“Just…took me by surprise there,” He said, forcing himself onto his elbows. It felt as though his body was moving on its own accord, deciding when to move and what to do. Mabel relented a bit and crawled off of him, dipping the tip of his hat down so that it covered his eyes and face, making him momentarily blind as he laughed and lifted it up. His sister laughed along before pulling him into a warm hug.

“We were so worried Dippin’dot,” She sighed, “You’ve been missing for the whole day! Grunkle Stan, Ford, and I have been searching high and low for you,” Her voice tells him that she has been screaming for quite a while and her puffy red, bloodshot eyes give away that she’s also been crying, “Why did you run off like that?” She asks. He blinks, unsure of how to respond to that. He opens his mouth, pauses, then closes it. What is he supposed to say? What happened? He was confused by everything at the moment, from the way the world didn’t settle right with him, to the way his sister’s eyes bored into his own with confusion and concern.

What was he to do?

“Dipper?” She asks, her eyes imploring for her brother to open up to her. And he would, _god_ he would, if he only knew what the _HECK TO SAY!_

“I-,” He falters, wracking his brain for any semblance of a memory. There _has_ to be a memory in there. He looks up at Mabel, her eyebrows were furrowed together, knitted in a way that has her saying to speak now or else. She was impatient, eager to know the reason behind her brother’s sudden disappearance. He felt cornered, trapped. Like an animal that is being backed into an enclosed area by a predator, no way of escaping, stuck in a mixture of flight or fight. Then, as if knowing he was going to explode, her gaze softens and she lets out a soft sigh.

“Forget it,” She responds, making his body deflate with the most wonderfulness of relief he has ever come to know or felt. He loses all tenseness, his shoulders slumping forward with relief as he offers her a smile of gratitude for taking the spotlight off of him. She stands up, giving a warm smile to him as she extends her hand for him to take, “Let’s get some rest and we’ll talk in the morning,” She assures him and he smiles, taking her hand holding tightly to it as he gets up on two legs.

“Sorry,” he murmurs, “I’m just…my head really hurts at the moment. Thanks for finding me…I thought for sure I was going to be lost forever,” He says with a laugh and apparently it’s the right thing to say because his sister laughs along with him, squeezing his hand as she guides him out of the deep part of the forest.

“That would never happen,” She smiles, “I’ll always be there for you. You’re my brother and I’ll bring you back home no matter what.”

_Wrong._

He smiles, enjoying the relaxed tension between them. But inside, his stomach churns and his head spins. For some reason, he feels as though that statement wasn’t meant for _him_. Which is weird because he’s her sibling: her brother. Right? Right.

_Wrong_.

He chances a glance over his shoulder and under the moon’s lighting, he can make out an outline of a statue. A hand extending out towards him from the shrouded darkness. The more he looks, the clearer his vision and he can see a long, jagged line headed diagonal across the statue’s body and once again, his stomach churns, lurching with an unpleasant twist and he takes in deep breaths. It’s all he can do to keep from vomiting out his insides.

But he ignores the horrible aching in his brain, he pays no mind to the voice shouting about how wrong all of this was. He focuses his thoughts towards trying to recall the memory of earlier. After all, everything was perfectly okay right? This was where he should be, with his sister who was leading him back to safety.

As they approached the run-down looking home, which he was to later remember as ‘ _The Mystery Shack_ ’, they were met with the relieved expressions of his two Great Uncles. They embraced him, both equally happy and concerned. They gave him a stern talk about disappearing into the forest and how they would be forced to ground him the next time it happened. Needless to say, he wouldn’t be running off again anytime soon. With a few more last hugs and words of relief, they all headed inside. But he lingered back for a moment, turning his head to turn and look into the foreboding woods. Somewhere in the distant an owl hooted eerily and he felt a prickling sensation of being watched. Swallowing, he faced the doorway of his home, harkening to the call of his family.

After all, everything was fine and as it should be. Right?

“Right,” he whispered to himself, entering the home and closing the door behind him.

_Wrong_.


	2. Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some new information has Dipper feeling even more lost than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I finally managed to post this bugger. Real life's catching up with me guys.

Smoke s c r e e n s and Mir r o r s

◅Chapter 2▻

* * *

 

The early morning broke through the trees and poured through the glass stained window, illuminating the room with a soft gold and reddish hue. The ever present triangle on it cast a soft shadow along the floorboards.

Both beings in the room were still sleeping, soft snores coming from each, but only one of them was tossing and turning, their eyelids fluttering wildly as they slept.

_There was a forest…the sound of feet thudding heavily against the ground as someone ran._

The sleeping figure curled in upon himself, fingers grasping at the sheets he was underneath before he kicked those off, sending them carelessly to the floor. As he turned over onto his side, he let out a hushed whimper.

_Laughter rang out as clear as day. Whispers rose and swirled around him like a tornado. His eyes looked around rapidly, searching for something. Searching for_ someone _._

He gasped, head turning to the side and burrowing deep into his pillow, hot tears gliding down his face as his curled position turned into a tight fetal position, pain beginning to blossom inside his head.

_Then a clearing…a hand, sticking out from the ground and attached to something. He couldn’t see it, it was a blurry figure. Then, a voice; hushed and broken, cracking after each and every word he spoke._

_C O M E_

_A N d_

_F I n D_

_M̭̞̭̤͖̲͗̈́ ̺͕͙̝͆ͪ̐ͤȄ̖͌̊_

The pain grew with each eerie image, starting at the base of his skull before working its way up, like cracks on a window that kept spreading, then finally breaking off into a dozen of million pieces. He let out a pained groaned, teeth gritting and one hand reaching out and grabbing at an invisible object in the air.

_Words melded into sobs before a hand reached out and grasped tightly onto the hand that was staring at him. A flash of bright light met his vision and he was blinded before that horrible laughter broke free, coating his mind with it and burning it into his memory. A voice, sharp and high shouted over the darkness and he was wrapped in a hot, fiery prison._

_F I n D M E_

**F I N d M̭̞̭̤͖̲͗̈́ ̺͕͙̝͆ͪ̐ͤȄ̖͌̊**

**_F̙̲̱ ̝̙̍ͬ̃ͣͪ̊ͭI͖̗͖̣͈̳ͣ́͑̊ ̥̬͙͚̩̖̗̓ͮṄ̦̲ͅͅ ̫͕̺D͎̝ͥ̄ ͈̜̮̦͂ͪ̋̋ͬ̏M̲͙͇̓͋ͫͥ̎͑ ̣̞̲E̫̱̥̗ͬ͗͗̌̈́͋ͨ_ **

His eyes snapped open, his body shooting up in his bed. His head lurched forward, making him dizzy and sick. He swallowed, clutching his now throbbing head with a vice like grip. He could feel a coat of perspiration covering his body like an extra article of clothing that was misted upon him; making his real clothes and hair stick to him. It made him sick, made his skin hurt as though the light sheet of it were burning his skin. It didn’t help that his head was swaying in a dull manner as he managed to steady himself. He gave a glance across the room, his sister’s peaceful sleeping form catching his eyes. He sighed, running a dreary hand over his face before he fell back onto his pillow, eyes closing as he worked himself into a state of relaxation.

Pretty soon he opened them, blinking multiple times to get his eyes adjusted with the sunlight in the room. He let out a soft sigh, slowly rising up in bed and swinging his legs over the side of it. His feet touched the cold floorboards and he shivered, taking a small step forward. Bad mistake.

_Creeeeeak!_

The floor let out a loud groan as the he put his weight down, straining the wood and making it cry out. He froze, his heart jolting in chest as his eyes flew towards his sister. When she didn’t stir, he let out a relieved breath, but then paused. Strange, he thought with bewilderment, normally he knew just where to step to avoid the creaks, but the memory of it didn’t seem to want to make itself known, almost as if it never even existed. Worry planted itself into his mind and he was met with another dull headache. After a moment the headache disappeared and in its place, a flashback.

He could see himself standing there, looking over the floorboards with a proud smile. Beside him, clad in a bright orange sweater with the words ‘ _Orange you glad you saw me today?_ ’’ stitched on it, was his sister. She watched him with mild amusement, but at the same time interest. It was their third day at the shack and he had found himself easily acquainted with the floorboards and where would be the best place to step should they ever try to sneak out. He began by placing his foot near one of the boards with a hole on it in the corner, then from there he stretched his leg out to a floor board diagonal from it with a weird black mark shaped like a president on it. And so it went from there, him locating all the spots which he should step on and the ones not to.

Which led Dipper back to the present. He blinked, snapping back to reality before stepping forward, this time without making so much as a sound. He grinned, working his way to the door with a fervent rush. He let out a soft laugh, his heart pulsing happily at having made it through the room without any more loud disturbances. He made his way to the restroom, stepping inside it and switching on the light. He winced, closing the door behind and making his way to the mirror.

His face was pale, eyes brown with slightly noticeable bags underneath them. His hair was a tangled mess, disheveled from the restless sleep he had woken from. He lifted his hand, curling and uncurling it a few times. He stared at it, looking at the many tiny lines on it, like details on a painting-memorizing them but yet still not understanding. He looked back at his face, drinking in the sight of who he was, yet also who he wasn’t. Since waking up in the forest yesterday, he hasn’t felt as he should. He just couldn’t seem to fit in with the role of himself. He pressed his hands against his cheeks, feeling the warm skin underneath it. He slid them down to his neck, feeling the movements as he swallowed.

He was here, he existed, and this was _him_. So then why was it not? Why did he feel like…well, he didn’t know how he felt like, he just knew that it felt like something he couldn’t quite place.

“What’s wrong with me?” he groaned, leaning forward and pressing his forehead against the mirror, his head feeling cool against the hard surface. He closed his eyes a brief moment before opening them, and sliding his head downwards slightly. His brown eyes looked up at his reflection and his blood cold.

He pulled back as though he had been burned and he stared at himself with wide eyes. His hand hovered over his bangs and he swept them back, holding them in place and staring at his forehead with horror.

Where was his birthmark?

The patch of skin there was clear, no signs of any blemish or markings that were shaped and formed to look like the constellation of the big dipper. He touched the warm surface of his skin with his free hand, rubbing at it furiously as though his signature mark may have been covered with makeup. He blinked, once, twice, but still his forehead remained clear, void of his birthmark and only stained with the now reddening skin from his hand’s abuse.

The door swung open and he swiveled around, dropping his hand quickly and letting his bangs cover the clear skin once more, concealing the absence of his mark. He let out a quick puff of air as he was met with the gaze of his tired Grunkle Ford. The man was wearing only his dark pants and red sweater and his eyes seemed to waken up a bit as he noticed the boy and he fixed his glasses.

“Oh! Dipper, didn’t know you were in here,” The man said. Then he noticed the boy’s frightened demeanor and he frowned, stepping forward, “Dipper, you alright?” He asked. Said boy blinked and forced a nod, straining a smile as he breathed out slowly.

“Y…yeah,” He breathed, though he was anything but. Worry surged through his body, making him feel as though Ford could see through his bangs. As though the elder’s eyes could see past the façade and uncover that dark secret and expose him. The man looked at him with a calculating gaze, his eyes narrowed forward in concentration as he looked the boy up and down. Then he started moving, and Dipper’s heart couldn’t have slowed down even if he wanted it to. He could feel beads of sweat forming as Ford walked closer, and he chewed on the inside of his cheek to keep from jerking back as he felt Ford placing both his hands on the boy’s small shoulders. Dipper hoped the man couldn’t see or feel how bad he was trembling from under his scrutinizing gaze. Then, his hands brushed against his bangs and Dipper’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, his body’s functions seeming to have stopped all together and he was sure he was going to die right here and now on the bathroom floor. But then, Ford’s fingers were gone and in his hand a small dried up piece of a leaf. He tossed it in the trashcan and chuckled.

“Heh, guess that stuff about not taking baths is true,” The old man mused, tussling the boy’s hair gently. Dipper sucked in quickly, not having remembered when he forgot to breathe. He felt like he was going to faint, and probably would’ve too, were it not for Ford being here.

“H-hah, yeah…baths,” he said weakly, “I…I hate’em…” He laughed along with Ford as best as he could without sounding too anxious and the man patted his shoulder.

“Ah, look,” Ford said, kneeling down to meet Dipper’s gaze, “About yesterday, with our little disagreement,” he began, and Dipper’s ears tuned in immediately, his eyes meeting the man’s to absorb whatever information about yesterday he could get, “I didn’t mean to make you run off.”

He blinked, so…Ford was the reason why he went AWOL, but what about the fight? What caused it? What had he told him?

“Oh…” Was all he could managed, “…the fight…” Ford sighed and nodded, looking a bit crestfallen at the remembrance of the subject.

“It was pretty stupid, huh? Me not trusting you on your own. But it was for your sake, Dipper,” He said, “You’re fourteen, still too young to defend yourself. Believe me, when I first got here, I thought I was ready too. I thought I was prepared for anything…but, well, you saw what happened with Bill.” He sighed, giving a sad smile.

Bill.

_Bill who?_

By the way Ford’s whole face dropped to a severely shocked expression told Dipper that he had asked that out loud. He mentally cursed, inwardly cringing at his careless mistake. Ford leaned back, squinting at Dipper with a strange look he couldn’t quite place, “ _What_?” The man asked, his voice holding back no emotion, “What do you mean by _that_? ‘ _Who’s Bill_ ’’? Did you hit your head a little _too_ hard?” The man asked, trying to make light of this situation by putting up a playful smile and laughing, though his eyes betrayed how he felt and that scared Dipper-more so when he didn’t miss the way the man’s hand went to the left side of his pants, a place where he commonly kept his multi-dimension gun tucked away. The look Ford’s eyes held was one of suspicion, confusion, and doubt.

Oh geez, oh geez, he was messing this up! Then, without warning, Dipper tossed his head back and laughed, his insides shaking and his mind reeling with panic. He laughed for a while, stopping himself before it became too much and he shook his head, placing a hand on his Grunkle’s shoulder.

“I’m just _playing_ ,” he said with an easy going smile, “No need to panic, Great Uncle Ford, I know who you’re talking about,” He said. Shut up! _Shut up_! His mind was telling him. He knew he was digging himself a deeper hole, but he really didn’t want to have the whole family’s worry and focus placed on him. He had a bad feeling that something not good would happen if it came to that. Ford’s eyes filled with relief and his smile became genuine as he visibly relaxed.

“Oh…good,” He smiled, “I was afraid you might’ve joggled your head a little harder than I originally thought. Thank goodness you didn’t though, it would’ve been difficult to explain it,” He sighed, relieved by that notion, and so did Dipper too-silently, of course-as he saw Ford’s hand move away from his gun. Then, Ford remembered the subject they were on and his face was serious once more, “Look, Dipper, I’ll trust you to go adventuring on your own as long as you’re careful. We don’t want another doing of Weirdmageddon, so promise me you’ll be smart and careful about what you go digging your nose into,” Ford said and Dipper nodded agreeing wholeheartedly on Ford’s words. The man returned the nod and he stood, ushering Dipper to the doorway.

“Now then, run along and make yourself some breakfast,” Ford smiled.

“Will do,” The boy responded, his dull headache returning. As he walked downstairs, he rethought his conversation with Ford, his mind traveling back to one thing and one thing only.

Bill. Who was Bill? An enemy? He had a hunch that he was, after all, the way Ford spoke about him made it sound like he was. What was Weirdmageddon? There was a small tickling at the back of his head, as though something was trying to dig its way to the surface. He rubbed at the small spot, wishing that he didn’t feel so confused about this all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the update on this is going to be slow. I've got exams and mid-terms popping up all over the place! I can't get any time to relax or even let my brain juices flow....*sigh*.
> 
> Oh well, let me know what you guys think! I appreciated the comments in the first chapter! Thank you~~~!!!


	3. Bloody Noses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper's headaches have been getting more frequent and accompanied by a nose bleed as well. Not only that, but he catches of something that may lead to his answers he's been searching for.

**Smoke s c r e e n s** **and** **Mir r o r s**

**◅** **Chapter 3** **▻**

* * *

 

So, now he had a goal.

As he sat at the table, slowly eating his breakfast, Dipper came to the conclusion that wherever his memories had fled, this Bill guy had to be a part of it. Ergo, if he finds him, he’ll find his answers. But where to start? All he had was what Ford unknowingly told him and the area in the woods where he woke up in.

He snapped out of his thoughts as his sister came bounding in joyfully, her face lit up with a smile as she greeted her brother, “Morning, Dippin’sauce!” She chortled, skipping happily to the fridge and opening it. She rifled through there for a moment before leaning back and pulling out a plastic pitcher of pink juice-was that glitter and gummy bears in it? She walked over to the table and set the pitcher down.

“Care for some Mabel Juice, broseph?” She asked with a grin, “It’s freshly made!” Dipper investigated the drink, the pinkish liquid reminding him of pink lemonade. It seemed to have small bubbles, showing the carbonation in it. Upon closer inspection, he confirmed that there was indeed glitter in it and along with gummy bears. Mabel walked back over to the fridge, opening the freezer she plucked out some ice cubes before returning back to the table and dumping the cubes in it.

“I…I think I’ll pass,” Dipper said, shuddering as a memory of his first taste of the drink came to him, “How do you even like that stuff?” He asked, his nose scrunching in disgust as his sister poured herself a glass and drank it down. Mabel merely gave him a coy smile before refilling her glass and sitting down in the chair beside him.

“So, how do you feel? Remember anything from last night?” She asked, tapping her fingers against the table. Dipper stiffened a bit and his eyes flew down towards his bowl filled with some now soggy cereal.

“I’m…fine,” He said, “Just sore from that running and fall I took,” He said, he wasn’t sure if he had indeed fallen down, but he knew that he was in the clear for that since no one was there but him, “Everything’s really a blur, Mabel…I can’t remember what happened after I left from the spat with Ford,” He sighed. His sister gave him a sympathetic smile and reached over, patting his arm.

“Well, hey, at least your safe and found,” She smiled, “and don’t worry! I’m sure your memories will come sooner or later!” She chirped, sitting up a bit more in her chair, “All we gotta do is re-jog your cranium and we’ll be on our way to memory lane!” Her words were followed by the action of her jumping up in her seat and raising her arms up in the air, nearly whacking Dipper if the boy hadn’t ducked just in time. Unfortunately her hand had indeed managed to hit against the pitcher of juice on the way up.

“Careful!” he said, catching the pitcher before it could tip over, a splash of pink liquid landing on the table. Mabel gave a sheepish smile before sitting back down and putting her hands back on the table. Once the situation was a bit less tense and the spill was cleaned, Dipper decided now was the perfect time to interrogate his sister, “Hey, Mabes,” he began unsurely, trying to work out the words he wanted to form, “You remember…Bill?” He asks, nervous she might have no idea what he’s going on about. He’s relieved to find out that she does.

“Bill Cipher?” She said, eyeing him curiously, “The triangle guy?” She said, using her index fingers and thumbs to form a triangle as she held them over one of her eyes. The action was very familiar and Dipper felt a sense of déjà vu. A sharp spike of pain throbbed at the back of his head, almost like a bug bite and Dipper reached a hand back there normally and rubbed at it, wincing as he tried to ease away the pain.

“Y-yeah…him…” He said. So this Bill guy was a triangle person, huh? But did she mean a person obsessed with triangles…or a _literal_ triangle? Something told him it was the latter.

“Well, duh, we were the ones to defeat him! _Multiple times_!” She beamed, reaching over and punching his shoulder lightly, “Know why?” She asked with a grin. Dipper stared at her in confusion.

“Because we’re…siblings?” He said with a shrug, glancing from side to side. Mabel’s grin grew wider and she shoved him with his arm due to her quick excitement.

“No!” She laughed, then paused, “Well, yeah, but no! Because we’re the mystery twins!” She squealed. Dipper laughed along with her, taking in the information and adding it to his pile of puzzle pieces.

“What do you think happened to him?” He asked. This caused Mabel to give him an awkward look. One eyebrow was raised and a lopsided smile was barely hanging on to her lips.

“What does that even mean? He got erased by the memory gun! Grunkle Stan forgot who he was and we got his memories back thanks to my scrapbook,” She said as though he should’ve known this already, and by heavens he probably should’ve. “What’s with this? Are you sure you don’t have amnesia? Is my real brother in there? Hello? Dipper?” She jokingly called, knocking on the top of his head softly.

“Ha-ha,” Dipper deadpanned before shaking his head, “But, seriously…I’m just _curious_ , I guess…or paranoid, ya know,” He began, staring down at his bowl, oh yes, he was paranoid. Paranoid that the reason why he was feeling so out of place was because of this triangle guy, “I mean…what if he comes back?” Will he ever come back? Would finding him bring him back? No…if he got erased, wouldn’t that mean he’s non-existent? Well, it _was_ a memory gun and any memory could be retrieved if you tried hard enough, right?

“Hey, don’t think like that. Bill’s got not nothing on us. And if he does, we’ll just defeat him again! That triangular demon is no match for us!” Mabel smirked, a fire of determination flickering to life in her eyes, “He’ll never have this dimension!”

Dipper only smiled at her and rolled his eyes, meanwhile, his mind gears were already spinning with thoughts. So it _was_ a triangle shape guy. Weird. But then again, he knew he had seen and experience weirder stuff. As if to prove a point, more memories flew by and he gasped and dropped his spoon as he was overtaken by a massive migraine. He whimpered, gripping his head as Mabel watched with wide eyes and concern.

“Dipper, you alright?” She asked, reaching over to place a hand on her brother’s shoulder. Dipper blinked, his eyes blurry and vision fuzzy. He blinked, his migraine lessening at the touch of his sister and when it had completely faded into nothing, he was left with more memories. But oddly enough, he couldn’t find one about a triangle demon that Mabel spoke of, and he vaguely wondered if his mind was doing that to keep something from him…something dark.

“Dipper?”

He jolted, eyes clearing to reveal the worried brown orbs of his sister. She stared at him, and he registered that she was holding a napkin.

“Mabel, what are you doing?” He asked, noticing that the napkin was up against his noise and he could smell a bit of something metallic near his nose. Mabel frowned and briefly pulled the white material back.

“You’re bleeding,” She stated, and indeed he was. He could that dark red splotch staining the once white napkin with its crimson color and he felt a shudder go through his body. There was a scream somewhere and he could hear someone sobbing. Then a bright flash before he felt pain. He gasped, pushing the napkin back before feeling the red liquid seep down and onto his teeth through parted lips.

“Dipper, what’s wrong? Did you remember something?” She asked, reaching to try and clean up the blood still sliding from his nose, but she stopped when Dipper flinched, not wanting that stained napkin near him. He shook his head, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rise as he felt that there was something not right. He was missing some big clue and that triangle demon seemed to hold all the answers to that. He had to find him.

F I N d M̭̞̭̤͖̲͗̈́ ̺͕͙̝͆ͪ̐ͤȄ̖͌̊

**F̙̲̱ ̝̙̍ͬ̃ͣͪ̊ͭI͖̗͖̣͈̳ͣ́͑̊ ̥̬͙͚̩̖̗̓ͮṄ̦̲ͅͅ ̫͕̺D͎̝ͥ̄ ͈̜̮̦͂ͪ̋̋ͬ̏M̲͙͇̓͋ͫͥ̎͑ ̣̞̲E̫̱̥̗ͬ͗͗̌̈́͋ͨ**

**_F̙̲̱ ̝̙̍ͬ̃ͣͪ̊ͭi ̥̬͙͚̩̖̗̓ͮṄ̦̲ͅͅ ̫͕̺D͎̝ͥ̄ ͈̜̮̦͂ͪ̋̋ͬ̏M̲͙͇̓͋ͫͥ̎͑ ̣̞̲e_ **

A voice screamed at him from his mind and he pushed himself away from the table.

Where to begin? Where to start? What do I do? He thought, wiping away the blood with the back of his hand.

“Dipper, talk to me, _please_ ,” Mabel begged, getting scared by her brother’s sudden behavior. Dipper froze and he turned his head slowly, facing his sister. He sighed, wiping at his nose again.

“I’m sorry Mabel,” He finally said after a long moment of silence, “Things are just confusing for me right now,” He muttered. She nodded, but didn’t press, feeling a sense of helplessness come over her and she didn’t like it. Dipper seemed to feel it too and he walked over to her, giving her a tentative grin, “H-hey, don’t worry about,” He said, “I’ll get it soon enough and this’ll blow over,” He assured her. Mabel smiled and nodded.

“Cool, just checking,” She hummed, placing the bloodied napkin down. Dipper’s nosebleed had stopped and he walked over to the sink to clean off the blood that stayed behind on him. He sighed, rubbing his nose and clearing the water off of him.

“Kids! Shop’s opening up! Can’t let Soos do all of the work now can we?” Their Grunkle Stan called out. Dipper and Mabel looked at each other, both knowing very well they had to get going. Mabel smiled at Dipper.

“Just like last year, aye?” She mused. He nodded.

“Yeah, except Soos is in charge this time,” He chuckled, “And we won’t be going on anymore mystery hunts,” He said, a bit solemnly. He always did love the mystery hunts. Mabel puffed her cheeks and exhaled. They both made their way out of the kitchen once they cleaned up and entered the shop part of the home.

“I feel ya, broseph,” Ashe said, wrapping an arm around him and giving him a small side hug, “But don’t worry! I’m sure we’ll have some adventure this summer! Why, I bet the next mystery to come will walk right through that door!” she said, pointing towards the open doorframe that led to the house part.

As if on cue, Stan walked through the doorway, his white wife-beater shirt on with a few stains lingering and he was wearing his blue striped boxers. He burped, holding a can of Pitt Cola. The sight was quite unsightly to the twins and Mabel groaned.

“Oh man! Why, _why_ does that always happen?” She whined, covering her face with a loud groan of annoyance. Dipper bursted out laughing, remembering the last time she had done that and he snickered.

“Interesting mystery, Mabel,” Dipper snorted, “Not the kind I’d want to explore though. _Ever_ ,” He cackled, earning a smack on his shoulder from Mabel.

“Whatever…let’s just get to work,” His sister grumbled, obviously not happy about the way her little speech turned out. Dipper snickered but didn’t say anything more. Though he paused another moment again as he felt a sharp pain zip right through his brain, almost like a surge of energy. He yelped, falling to the ground on shaky knees.

“Dipper?!” He heard Mabel scream in fear. There were arms pressing around him, but he couldn’t see who was touching him since all _could_ see was a dark, dimly lit room.

And then, he turned his head. He froze, off to the side was a blue barred caged.

The image didn’t last however and he was brought back to reality in an instant. Stand and Ford were hovering over him, eyes wide with concern and fearing for the worst. Dipper gasped, sitting up and scooting back. Oh man, oh man, had they seen his forehead?!

Ford held his hands up, talking softly, “Dipper, it’s alright, you’re safe,” He said. The boy’s heart was pounding and he blinked. Once. Twice. Three times, but the room stayed the same. Where had the room gone? Where was the cage? _What was going on?!_ He tried to gather himself, calming his breathing and sighing. Only then did he realize his nose was bleeding again.

“Dipper, what happened in the forest last night?” Ford asked, looking at his nephew suspiciously. Dipper gulped and looked down. What could he say?

He didn’t even have the slightest clue himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so late guys! I promise I'll do a better job and get an official updating schedule! For now, please hang tight!
> 
> Please excuse any grammar errors I might've made! 
> 
> Also, by popular demand, I shall be releasing a sequel to my first fanfic 'Scavenger' but it might be a while since I'm tied with multiple stories, but it is a work in progress so bear with me guys! Thanks!!


	4. Sneaky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper gets another glimpse of that strange room. Will he finally be motivated enough to head back to where this whole mess began?

**Smoke s c r e e n s** **and** **Mir r o r s**

**◅** **Chapter 4** **▻**

* * *

 

Currently, Dipper was sitting on the stool near the cash register, Stan had told him to take it easy and man the cash, which Dipper was grateful for. He rested his head on the wood, eyes closing as he tried to ignore the toilet paper stuffed into his nose to control the bleeding. Ford hadn’t said a word to him since the early afternoon, the man hardly even glanced at him. A dark pool of guilt sat in Dipper’s gut, making him want to avoid the man’s presence entirely. He wanted to curl up into a ball and die. He winced, feeling another sharp pain at the thought of that.

He changed his thoughts over to the room he had caught a glimpse of. What was that place? It was dark and cold. Minimal light was in there, giving him a chance to at least see the outline of the room. The only other light in there was the blue cage. Why was that there?

Dipper jumped as he heard a _thud_ beside him and he peeked his head up, eyes glancing to the figure beside him.

“Wendy!” he cheered, smiling at the red-head. Wendy looked down at Dipper for a moment and just…stared. She had a smile on her face, but her eyes showed what her mouth beguiled. Unrecognition and confusion filled her green eyes and it made Dipper shrink back, his smile faltering a bit. But as soon as the look was there on Wendy, it was gone and the teen gave him a bright smile.

“Dipper, my main man!” She chirped, “How’s it hangin’ buddy?” Dipper’s smile returned and he straightened up a bit more, scooting closer to her.

“Good! Good, how about you?” He asked, for some reason he felt nervous. But he had no idea why. Wendy was his friend right? He noticed she had placed something on his head and his vision was dark for a moment before he lifted the object up and noticed it was his hat. He smiled, remembering that they had made a small trade before he had left. “My hat!” He laughed, he took it off and examined it, his thumb tracing over the small blue pine tree imprint on it and he frowned. For some reason…he wasn’t expecting to see that. He placed the hat back on, it didn’t feel right.

_Wrong_.

He heard his mind say to him, and he forced a smile as he met Wendy’s examining gaze. His breath left him for a brief moment and he worried if she could also tell. If she somehow knew about his small confusion or incident about last night.

“You okay, dude?” Wendy asked, “You seem…different. Also, what’s with the toilet paper?”

He almost laughed, but flushed brightly instead. He had forgotten about the paper wadded up in his nose. “N-nose bleed…” he muttered, looking away briefly. Her words had struck a chord with him though. ‘Different’ was putting the situation lightly. He felt more than different, knew that something about him was very different. But how could he tell her that without attracting more unwanted attention on him? And if he did tell her, would she go quiet and avoid him like Ford was? Mabel, thankfully, wasn’t leaving him alone. His sister made sure to acknowledge him each time and though they still joked, her eyes didn’t covet the concern she felt for him. Currently though, she was with Ford and Stan. They had wanted to talk to her in private about some things, but Dipper knew that those ‘ _things_ ’ pertained to his suddenly weird behavior and his Grunkles were no doubt trying to make sense of this sudden mess.

He then remembered that he hadn’t really answer Wendy’s first question, and at the waiting eyes of his friend, he sighed and opened his mouth, forcing a weak smile.

“Me? No…I’m fine, just tired,” He shrugged before glancing at the top of her head, his eyes widened, “Oh! I left your hat upstairs! Let me go get it!” he said, hopping off the stool. He was thankful for the small break. He didn’t know how much of that awkwardness he could take. Wendy watched as he walked off, a frown on her face as she tried to decipher exactly what she saw in Dipper’s eyes.

The said boy was trudging up the stairs, his fingers fiddling with each other as he tried to calm himself. He approached the attic door with hesitance, eyes blurring a bit as he opened the door. When they cleared, he was back in that dimly lit room from earlier. He turned his head, seeing the blue cage again. He noticed it was in the form of a pyramid. He swallowed, letting go of the doorknob, he walked inside the room, slowly though as he was testing it first. When the room didn’t vanish, he tensed even more and walked over to the cage.

“ ** _Stop_** ,” A voice boomed around him, making him freeze right before he could even approach the cage. His blood ran cold as the room around him seemed to shake, “ ** _Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do!_** ” The stranger hissed darkly. Dipper froze, blood running cold as he looked around rapidly, searching for that voice, “ ** _I’m only going to say this once;_ Stop. Now. Or. _Pay._** ” He felt hot air on the back of his neck and it made his hairs rise as goosebumps popped up along his body. The thunderous voice echoed around him loudly and it sounded close. _Really_ close. As though it was…

The boy swallowed, heart pounding as he turned around only to come face to face with a one giant, black glowing eye. The pupil was a thin red slit and it glared down at him with an almost hateful, angry gaze. His eyes darted a little to the left as he noticed a clawed hand surrounded in a blue fire lunge towards him and he gasped, eyes squeezing shut as he waited for the painful blow to come.

It never came.

Releasing the breath he held, he cracked his eyes open slowly only to realize he was back in the attic. His shoulders slumped forward and his heart was racing beyond the normal heart rate. He gripped his chest, trying to get his heart to slow down before he died of a heart attack or something. The voice whirled around in his head, embedding itself into his mind as it repeated itself over and over again.

_Stop now, or pay._

_Stop or pay._

_Pay…_

_Pay for what?_

And what was he to stop doing? Did this person know what he was doing? Did he knew about his curiosities? It was only then that it clicked to him of who that strange being was.

He had no doubt that the scary eye that was staring at him belonged to no one other than being he needed answers from.

Bill Cipher.

**-+-**

Dipper walked back downstairs, Wendy’s hat in tow. He smiled up at the teenager before him and gave it back. The red head grinned at him and placed her Canadian hat back on herself.

“Alright! Been a long time since I’ve worn this baby, you’ve been treating’er right, haven’t you?” She asked. Dipper chuckled and nodded, trying his best to stay engaged in the conversation at hand.

“O-of course!” He said, “Why wouldn’t I?” He smiled lopsidedly. Wendy shrugged, looking down at the magazine in front of her.

“Well, I’m glad she’s still going strong,” The older said softly, flipping the pages absentmindedly. The words died down into an uncomfortable silence that had Dipper sweating nervously. He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet and coughed awkwardly. He rubbed the back of his neck before stammering out words.

“I-I uh, should get going, Mabel might need my help,” He said, starting to walk backwards. Wendy nodded and smiled at him, saluting him off before resuming her (not) reading. As Dipper retreated, his mind kept going back to that room and to the being Bill Cipher. He hadn’t even seen him in person and already he was shaking form intimidation. Did Bill know he was looking for answers? Why didn’t he want him digging deeper? Was it something bad?

He had a small hunch that could be, but whether it was bad for him or for Bill, he didn’t know. He knew what he had to do, and this time he was going to delve right in. Looking around, Dipper watched the tourists walk by, minding their own business. Good. He searched for Mabel, she was off talk adamantly to some boy or girl, so that was a good thing to. His Grunkles no doubt were probably down in the basement, or something, trying to come up with a feasibly answer for his weirdness. Well, so was he, and without letting anyone know, Dipper walked over to the exit and exited skillfully.

Once he was sure no one had seen him and he was good to go, he ran off into the thick forest, knowing exactly just where he was supposed to go.

It was strange for him indeed, the way his feet moved on their own accord, it was as if someone else was controlling them…or, as if they knew just where he needed to be. He’d liked to think that it was just a familiarity from his little incident the night before, but somewhere deep in him, he felt as if it ran deeper. He watched the trees whiz by him and ducked underneath the branches that came his way. But it wasn’t the scenery or the low hanging twigs he was keeping an eye on, no, it was for something he knew he had to see. He couldn’t give exactly _what_ he needed to see, but he knew it was vital.

He suddenly stopped as he came into a small match of dried grass and dirt. He looked up and gasped, this was where he had woken up. Except, it was dark the last time. He continued to trek further, yelping as he suddenly found himself sliding down a ledge he didn’t see. He tumbled downwards with a cry, landing flat on his back. His vision swayed a bit and suddenly there was a shadow over him. There was a stern, older man’s face staring at him with a frown. Besides him, was a very familiar pair of brown eyes.

“S-Soos?” Dipper groaned, sitting up. Shoot, he had forgotten about the other being present. He must’ve seen him running out. He frowned inwardly, great, there goes his chances of getting answers. The man beside Soos helped him to his feet and Dipper realized it was Grunkle Ford, and he did not look pleased.

“Dipper, what were you doing?” The old man asked. Dipper shifted uncomfortable, tilting his hat downwards to cover his eyes. How had they even kept up with him? Wasn’t he running really fast? “Dipper, I asked you a question,” Ford’s voice was a little colder and harsher, but it was underlined with deep concern. Dipper felt a heaviness weigh him down in his chest and he let out a deep breath, shoulders sagging as he nibbled on his bottom lip. What could he say? What was he supposed to say?

“I-I…” He struggled, words failing him, “…I w-was wanting to…explore…” he said softly. There was a brief moment of silence before a tired sigh from his Grunkle.

“Okay…c’mon, let’s get back to the shack. Your shift hasn’t exactly ended,” Ford said, placing a hand on Dipper’s shoulder. He tensed a bit before relaxing, looking up and trying his best to hold back tears.

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking back down at the ground, “I just…I didn’t mean to worry you.” Ford knelt down beside the trembling child and gave him a reassuring smile. He lifted the boy’s chin so that Dipper was looking at him.

“It’s alright, Dipper,” He said, “I know how curious you can be. I was the same way,” He ruffled his hair through his hat and grinned, “I was just like you when I was younger. So don’t worry. But please, next time, don’t try sneaking off without telling us. If something happened to you, god forbid, I don’t want to have to find you in a bad state. So, _please_ , don’t do this again. Promise?” Ford asked. Dipper fidgeted his fingers behind his back and crossed his fingers, staring Ford squarely in the eye and nodding.

“I promise,” he replied back. His Grunkle smiled and stood up, ushering him along with Soos guiding the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's late! And short...I promise chapters will get longer!!! The real fun is about to start soon! Until then~!
> 
> Comments are always welcome and appreciated!
> 
> thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I know it's short, but consider it a taste of what this'll be like. 
> 
> So, yay or nay?
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated!


End file.
